| Nick Bjugstad | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Bjugstad with theArizona Coyotes in 2022 | |||
| Born | (1992-07-17)July 17, 1992 (age 32) Blaine, Minnesota, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) | ||
| Weight | 218 lb (99 kg; 15 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Center | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team Former teams | Utah Hockey Club Florida Panthers Pittsburgh Penguins Minnesota Wild Arizona Coyotes Edmonton Oilers | ||
| National team |  United States | ||
| NHL draft | 19th overall,2010 Florida Panthers | ||
| Playing career | 2013–present | ||
Nicholas Jay Bjugstad (/ˈbjuːɡstæd/BEWG-stad; born July 17, 1992) is an American professionalice hockeyforward for theUtah Hockey Club of theNational Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by theFlorida Panthers in the first round (19th overall) of the2010 NHL entry draft.
During the summer of 2008, Bjugstad turned down an invitation to train with theUSA Hockey National Team Development Program out of a sense of loyalty to his high school teammates.[1] Bjugstad finished his high school career withBlaine High School in 2010 after helping to bring the school to three consecutive Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournaments. He was namedMr. Hockey in 2009–10.[2] While in high school, Bjugstad accelerated his schooling by taking summer classes and online courses, enabling him to graduate a year earlier than expected.[1]
Bjugstad began his collegiate career at theUniversity of Minnesota in 2010 playing for theGolden Gophers, where he totaled 54 goals and 44 assists during his three years while the team won twoWCHA championships.
Bjugstad left the Gophers after his junior season, signing a three-year entry-level deal with theFlorida Panthers on April 3, 2013.[3] He immediately joined the last-placed Panthers to end the2012–13 season, and scored his first NHL goal againstAnders Lindbäck in Florida's season finale victory over theTampa Bay Lightning on April 27, 2013.[4] Bjugstad led the Panthers in points with 38, and third in goals with 16, during 2013–14, his first full-length season in the NHL, where he spent the majority of the season on the team's first line. On December 31, 2014, Bjugstad signed a six-year contract extension with the Panthers worth $24.6 million.[5]
Bjugstad's2016–17 season was riddled with injuries including a broken hand,[6] and a lower body injury[7] that contributed to him setting a new career low in points since his rookie year.
Bjugstad rebounded from his disappointing previous season by setting career highs in points, assists, and games played during his2017–18 campaign.[8] Bjugstad recorded his first careerhat trick in the NHL on March 6, 2018 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.[9]
On February 1, 2019, Bjugstad and teammateJared McCann were traded to thePittsburgh Penguins in exchange forDerick Brassard,Riley Sheahan, a 2nd round pick, and two 4th round picks in the2019 NHL entry draft.[10] Upon joining the team, Bjugstad immediately settled into the third-line center role.[11] He remained in this role as the Penguins qualified for the2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.[12] In Game 1, Bjugstad led the team with eight hits although they fell 4–3 in overtime to theNew York Islanders.[13] Bjugstad had limited impact for the Penguins in the playoffs as he tallied no points and two penalty minutes over four games.[14]
Bjugstad returned to the Penguins for the2019–20 season but was limited to only 13 games. After suffering a core-muscle injury in October, he was expected to miss at least eight weeks to recover from surgery.[15] He was out of the lineup from the end of November to early March before returning on March 5.[16] In his return, Bjugstad recorded an assist on Hornqvist's first goal of the game to lift the Penguins 4–2 over theBuffalo Sabres.[17] He played in three games for the Penguins before suffering an unrelated lower-body injury on March 8. When the NHL returned for the2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, Bjugstad was ruled out for the remainder of the season.[18]
On September 11, 2020, Bjugstad was traded to theMinnesota Wild in exchange for a conditional pick in the2021 NHL entry draft.[19] In the pandemic-delayed2020–21 season, Bjugstad recorded six goals and 17 points in 44 games.
As a pending unrestricted free agent, Bjugstad opted to remain with the Wild in signing a one-year, $900,000 contract extension on July 5, 2021.[20]
On July 13, 2022, Bjugstad signed a one-year, $900,000 contract with theArizona Coyotes.[21]
On March 2, 2023, the Coyotes traded Bjugstad along withCam Dineen to theEdmonton Oilers in exchange for a third-round pick in2023, and prospectMichael Kesselring with Arizona retaining half of Bjugstad's salary.[22][23] Bjugstad made an immediate impact to the Oilers bottom six forward group, contributing with 4 goals and 6 points through 19 regular season games. He collected a career best three postseason goals through 12 playoff games, before the Oilers were defeated in the second round to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, theVegas Golden Knights.
As a free agent from the Oilers, Bjugstad opted to return to former club, the Arizona Coyotes, in agreeing to a two-year, $4.2 million contract on July 1, 2023.[24] At the end of the2023–24 season, the Coyotes' franchise was suspended and team assets were subsequently transferred to the expansionUtah Hockey Club; as a result, Bjugstad became a member of the Utah team.[25]
 Bjugstad at the2012 World Junior Championships | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing United States | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| Ice Hockey World Championships | ||
 | 2013 Sweden/Finland | |
| World Junior Championships | ||
| 2011 USA | |
Bjugstad's father, Mike, playedDivision-III hockey at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, while his uncle,Scott, played at theUniversity of Minnesota before going on to play in the NHL, where he spent a portion of his professional career with theMinnesota North Stars.[1] Scott and Nick have both played for thePittsburgh Penguins; Scott played 24 games with the team during the1988–89 season and scored three goals.
During the 2013–14 season, Bjugstad finished his class work to graduate with a degree in Business Marketing from the University of Minnesota.[26] Bjugstad and his wife Jackie, a kindergarten teacher, have one child together.[27]
Bjugstad is nicknamed “Rotisserie Chicken” after he skipped dinner with his Panthers teammates and opted to purchase rotisserie chicken at Publix instead. Amused fans would often throw chicken wings onto the ice as a result.[28]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2007–08 | Blaine High School | MNHS | 16 | 10 | 17 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Blaine High School | MNHS | 25 | 26 | 25 | 51 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Blaine High School | MNHS | 25 | 29 | 31 | 60 | 24 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 2010–11 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 29 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 40 | 25 | 17 | 42 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | University of Minnesota | WCHA | 40 | 21 | 15 | 36 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 76 | 16 | 22 | 38 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 72 | 24 | 19 | 43 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 67 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 41 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 54 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 82 | 19 | 30 | 49 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 32 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 32 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 44 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 57 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Arizona Coyotes | NHL | 59 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 19 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16 | ||
| 2023–24 | Arizona Coyotes | NHL | 76 | 22 | 23 | 45 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 694 | 149 | 162 | 311 | 328 | 27 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 22 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | United States | WJC |  | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2012 | United States | WJC | 7th | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2013 | United States | WC | | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2017 | United States | WC | 5th | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 12 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 0 | ||||
| Senior totals | 18 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | ||||
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| High school | ||
| Minnesota Mr. Hockey | 2009–10 | |
| College | ||
| All-WCHA First Team | 2011–12 | |
| AHCA West Second-Team All-American | 2011–12 | |
| All-WCHA Third Team | 2012–13 | |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minnesota Mr. Hockey 2009–10 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Florida Panthers first round draft pick 2010 | Succeeded by |